Rose

Answer best ya can, as it does matter.

I'm getting back into scripting, and as I outlined Candle Man, I realized it's been played lots. Mebbe too much. Rather than re-hash missions I've done for sake of 'fast production', I'm asking for help.

What I'm looking for are ideas you, players, would like to see? Think of aspects, scenarios, wierd situations, anything that would make loading into a game fun. I'm certain that most missions can be altered slightly to incorporate randomizing, to help keep missions fresh, but I'm sputtering a bit on ideas.

Offhand, things that come to my mind are:

• Use all maps (perhaps campaign?), even some/all MP maps to increase variety.
• Variable levels - Vary objectives/enemy troops by squad size and/or randomly.
• Random Missions? You know the map, but that's it.
• Close Quarter Firefights?
• Non-standard maps (TG1 Outpost, Mosque come to mind, mebbe see if 10mm has... eased on his standards to see if I can get a few of his maps... anyone speak fluent french?)
• Mod specific (I'm debating a GR 1.5 mission series, mod so I can add a variety of kits that never were in GR or appeared much later in DS/IT)
• Theme missions? IE, less realistic and more fun along a certain theme.
• Beyond Game? IE, you need to impersonate russians, so you start mission and get a randomly assigned 'russian' kit. Idea is things that extend beyond even mods, requirements that have to be 'forced' on players by scripting.
• I know some 'new features' were being discussed (Porta Bush!), and I'ld be curious to see if/what was lurking out there in folks computers. Objects like barrels, derelict vehicles, etc. that could be used to vary mission terrain would be awesome (even if it sounds and runs like a truck, if it looks like a barrel players can hide behind, I'll manage).

Anything else you folks care to add. I've considered getting into map making, but I honestly don't think that'll be productive, even with the postponement of GR:AW.

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So many scripts, so little time!

=Sarc=

I should still have some stuff from the TG 3.1 Teaser. Maybe it should stop being a tease... heh.

The scripting objects were here and there. I think I had a couple of objects done that H-Hour and I did. I tried getting the auto-turrets working but they weren't perfect. The sounds were alright but GR would create error messages to the ike.log hundreds of times during a mission using them. Plus, the only methods of destroying the turrets were hand grenades and AT. GL's wouldn't work for some reason.

I think some defense missions would be cool. Ones where you're stranded and have to defend until backup arrives then accomplish some small objective afterwards. Oh, those funny missions were good too. I'm thinking Beer Run.

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H-Hour

Hey Rose,

I think a couple of the most useful objects we created were things like tents, towers and barrels. This way you could turn a 'dead' area in a map into an objective area pretty easily. Sarc may have that stuff. I may have lost it. Most of the objects I created were office- or airport-related stuff for a map that I was working on.

I think you're barking up the wrong tree here since few people still play GR around here (better to ask at GR.net), but here are my thoughts:

1. I agree with you on using less-used maps. There should be several full, high-quality maps out there now: Outpost, Mosque, Farm, Ossetian (oldie but a goodie).

2. Download and check out a single player mission pack called Reciprocity. Unfortunately he uses lots of hidden actors so they can't be used in Coop. There are a couple things that I like about the few I've played:

a. Working with friendly units, though they tend to do it in an escort manner whereas I think missions where you coordinate assaults independent of friendly units would be cool. (ie - Bravo is taking down objective B so you need to prevent enemy units from harassing them or some such thing).

b. The missions are focused on an objective. It's not a 30 minute crawl around the map taking out tons of random patrols. Tangos are where you might expect them to be defending, and getting to the objective is the easy part.

c. They try to force speed sometimes. For things like hostage rescues or other events, I like it when the player is forced to pick up the pace. Care should be taken to reduce the difficulty by placing enemies in less vulnerable positions so that the player is not discouraged from moving quickly.

3. Make the missions a little more story-driven. This does not mean you need a huge long briefing or backstory, but add story-based events in-game. In a hostage mission for instance, have them move the hostage to a more defensible position if you're detected.

4. This goes back to my 2c point, but one of the missions I wanted to create before was a mission that was a building/complex takedown that HIGHLY encouraged the player to be quick - like 5-10 minutes. One way is simply to flood guys from the outside based on time spent inside the building/complex. Another way might be to have several of the enemy "off-duty" (ie - without weapons), who must go to a specific building to "pick up" weapons before heading to their defensive positions. Unfortunately, because GR didn't support flashbangs or anything similar, moving quickly through a building is very dangerous in GR. But there should be some way to make it become more difficult the longer the player is inside the building/complex.

5. I was looking over a few of the missions I never completed before I left and one that I really like was one I was developing for a theoretical coop sniper/spotter competition. The player was working for the CIA and had to make an urban hit on a warlord who was, for political reasons, receiving DEVGRU protection at that moment - so you had to get into place secretly, make a very difficult shot, and then get out before they tracked you down. I had friendly embassy security, DEVGRU and journalists that really muddied the battlefield. I'd like to see more missions like this where you are not given such a free-fire reign, but the sneaking around shouldn't be too difficult or else players will just learn the "correct" sneaking route, by failing and quick-loading until they try just the right combination (we all remember games where, after dying 30 times, we know it by heart: move to that barrel, wait for guy to walk by, move to bush, wait for second guy to walk by, etc. It should be easy enough for a careful player to get it on their first or second try with a little luck.)

6. Take on an enemy with decent technology. Punish the player for running in open areas with artillery bombardments or some such thing.

7. Make it worthwhile to sneak past some tangos and shoot up others. For most missions it's better just to kill what you see so you don't have to deal with them later. That gets boring.

Rose

I've always liked missions focused on ... minimum contact (some folks may remember testing a bizarre idea on the DS-01 map, where the more guys killed and noise made, the enemy got limited invulnerability. Kill enough, you got to like 50% chance to be shooting at an invulnerable target)... but I rambled there (badly! )

I've already got the impression that GR is badly lacking players' time, but I think that it's as much to do with better cames in the last four years as the lack of maps/missions to keep thing interesting (not to mention the lack of GR2 support).

@Sarc - I'ld love a list of whatever ya got. The items I would love are barrels/crates, tents (chairs too, for appearences), cargo containers (the large 3m x 8m x 3m containers all over M12 Docks), Derlict vehicles (though I 'could' use KillVehicle). Nearly all that stuff makes maps variable by removing open terrain but also gives a physical object for missions (ie, locate and investigate Cpt Putz's tent - after you find the tent camp he's got somewhere on the map).

@H - I'm praying for GR:AW to have similar 'team' action, but I trust Sarc's opinion if he's seeing SWAT4 as a future. If GR:AW is a four man team, I doubt it'll have the viability of GR's nine men. However, 'forcing' either time or coordination contraints appeal to me. If you want to see how coordinating can work, play M10 where you need to escort tanks. Be fun to end a mission if players bring ANY AT rockets...

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So many scripts, so little time!

=Sarc=

I forgot about the tent and barrels. I don't think I ever finished the barrels though. I wanted them to explode when hit by grenades but I think there was an animation issue I never finished. I just remembered I also made mines that helps minimize scripting and are easier to see than those decals. I'll see what I can find. I'm pretty sure I still have a lot of the stuff, which isn't much.

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